Former Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann feels the club needs to be closely monitored by UEFA as deals such as the one which has taken Frank Lampard to the Etihad Stadium "could be an issue" in the future.

This month they recruited Lampard on loan until January from New York City FC -- their American sister outfit, who the 36-year-old signed for after reaching the end of his contract with Chelsea this summer.

Hamann feels the deal itself is not really a problem, but he does believe it has set a potentially worrying precedent.

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Hamann, who played for City between 2006 and 2009, told Press Association Sport: "I think in the future that sort of thing could be an issue.

"I don't think it is an issue in this case, but in the future, if owners have a player somewhere else and then loan him back, it could be.

"Here it has happened with a player who is 36 and probably way past his best. If this was a player who was at his peak, then everyone would say 'hang on a minute -- that's not right.'

"We have FFP and you should play by the rules and not try to bend it. This is certainly something that needs to be looked at.

"Everyone should be playing by the same rules -- at the end of the day, that is why they brought it [FFP] in in the first place.